


memories of you

by mathonwys



Series: i'm looking at you through the glass [6]
Category: The Yogscast
Genre: F/M, Fic Rewrite, Flux Buddies, how Nano met Lalna, the apprentice - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 20:39:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4493961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mathonwys/pseuds/mathonwys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a long day of launching nukes and talking with Lalna, Nano remembers how it all began.</p>
            </blockquote>





	memories of you

When she opened her eyes for the very first time, it was dark.

* * *

  
Her breathing was harsh and shallow. Where was she? Where wasn't she? She strained her eyes as hard as she could, but she couldn't make out anything concise. Just herself-- pale skin, dark hair, red clothes. She was alone. She didn't want to be alone. No-- she isn't alone. Someone else is there, tall and dressed in purple, with a frightening face and a voice that hisses a name she doesn't know. Sjin. Who's Sjin? It sounds familiar, somehow, but her head was pounding and the most she could do is curl up on the floor and wait for something to happen.  
  
She didn't hear her captor leave, but she did hear a distant noise that made her shiver. Whispering echoed around her, of  the dangers lurking nearby, and she could hear distant wails and shrieks from some creatures she couldn't even begin to identify. Was this her life? No. This felt wrong. Everything felt wrong, but she couldn't understand why. This wasn't how things were supposed to start.  
  
If she closed her eyes, she could remember the night sky. She could pretend the hissing and growling were the soothing whispers of someone she couldn't identify. She could remember drifting, free, something more than she is now. Something with a purpose. And something inside her was calling--  
  
"Nano? What are you doing in the Nether?"  
  
Nano opened her eyes. Someone-- farmer's tan, well-groomed beard, a calm voice, and a warm smile-- was bent over her. She's in the Nether? Why was she in the Nether? Fear and confusion mixed to a breaking point. All she could see around her was the visitor, the gray bricks of the tower below her, and the searing red that made up everything around her. Why was she here? She couldn't remember anything; blood rushed in her ears as she sat up and stared up at the stranger with wide eyes.  
  
She opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, then closed her mouth again and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Strawfingers," she finally said after a long silence. "I-- I don't know, he brought me here." Nano shook her head and shivered. Whatever she had been about to do, Strawfingers had taken her away from it. "...How do you know my name?"  
  
The stranger gave her a baffled look. "Of course I know your name! It's me, Sjin! Did Strawfingers give you a bump on the noggin? Here, let's go home. I'll find you someplace to say."  
  
She didn't tell him that, as far as she could remember, she hadn't existed until now.  
  


* * *

  
  
Living with Sjin was actually pretty fun.  
  
Nano learned quickly how to build a house, even if it did look like ass. She tended to her garden with a smile on her face, even with dirt caked under her fingernails and the smell of compost never really leaving her. She quickly became acquainted with the various people who visited the farm, and had carved out her own little life in her shitty little house.  
  
She woke up each morning, worked in the field next door, listened to Sjin's explanations of what to do today, got to work, and went to bed feeling sore yet content. She hadn't really expected herself to fit into this niche so easily, but the physical labor was a driving force that kept her hands and mind busy.  
  
Nano eventually forgot all about Strawfingers, and the Nether, and the question of where she came from and why. So, of course, things had to change. And it all started with a man named Sips.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Go light it," Sips drawled from where he'd plonked down in a lawn chair. "Go on, do it."  
  
Nano bit back her retort and wrinkled her nose at the acridic smell of redstone. Sjin hovered around her with clear anxiety and ... something else. Something dangerous. But she trusted him, right? He'd been her mentor for a few months now, so of course she trusted him.  
  
She hit the switch. Nothing happened.  
  
She didn't see Sjin come in behind her as she raced inside and checked the trail. Everything was done exactly the way Sips told her, so why wasn't it working? Nano hissed in frustration and reorganized the heavy bundles of TNT; she didn't hear the quiet sifting noises of more redstone being poured behind her. "Move it closer," Sips barked out, and Nano turned around and moved to stomp out of the hut to do just that.  
  
Sjin beat her to it. She stared, wide-eyed, as her mentor kicked the switch and mouthed "sorry" at her.  
  
The building rumbled as one explosion went off, then another. Nano screamed and tried to escape, but the roof caved in and slammed down on top of her. Her ears were ringing as the explosions continued, and she couldn't do anything but scream in terror. "SJIN!" she hollered. "SJIN! HELP ME!"  
  
Sips smiled at Sjin and raised his beer for a toast. "Looks like you've got your job back."  
  
The building exploded with the loudest bang yet, and neither of them saw a silhouette launch up and sail off into the distance.  
  


* * *

  
Boom.  
  
Dr. Lalna Coffee, rogue scientist, jumped in shock as something exploded over the horizon and shook his castle to his foundations. He winced as one of his elbows slammed into the sorting machine he'd spent the last two hours on and jammed the inner workings yet again. The sound of something exploding overhead echoed throughout the courtyard, and ignoring the mess he was leaving behind he quickly bounced outside as fast as his legs could carry him. Already he was drawing battle plans; so far he'd been on neutral terms with all the other parties, but if Rythian had come back for another go...  
  
A spray of water rained down from above. Choking and sputtering, Lalna shot a look of death in the direction of his fountain. Was it a creeper? No, it was bright daylight, and not even a creeper could make that big of a bang. Yet it couldn'tve been a missile, for his courtyard was still intact. What the hell was going on?  
  
Lalna's eyes widened as he edged closer to investigate. Laying there, in the wreckage of his fountain, was a stranger. Judging by the grunts and moans they were making, they were in great pain, and their shredded clothing and soot-stained skin explained how exactly that had come to be. He furrowed his brow. He recognized her. She was one of Sjin's farmhands, whom he'd never spoken to but had seen out and about during one of his sparse visits. If rumors were right and Sips was back, she'd likely gotten caught up in something.  
  
The scientist sighed and ran his gloved hand through his hair. Well, no matter how she got here or what she was intending, she was hurt badly, and while the fountain water was surely helping any burns she had it wouldn't be a permanent solution. She didn't protest when Lalna hefted her up, and it wasn't until he was up the steps that he realized she was now unconscious. A quick check of her head relieved him of the worry that she had a concussion; he could let her sleep for a while, and maybe get some answers when she woke up.  
  
He'd send her on her way soon as she recovered, of course. His castle was no place for random strangers. Yet, a small part of him wished she could stay.  
  


* * *

  
  
Nano opened her eyes and groaned.  
  
For half a moment she thought she was still in her shitty house on Sjin's farm, but the inside was made of stone instead of wood. This wasn't Sipsco. either; it felt more, home-y, than the sparse, empty buildings there had been, but... Ugh. Sipsco. What a nightmare. As if being belitted by Sips wasn't enough, Sjin had to go and stab her in the back! The last thing she remembered was turning around just in time to see the TNT flashing--  
  
Was she dead? She didn't feel dead. Nano wasn't sure what being dead felt like, but she was pretty sure it wasn't this. She did her best to sit up, but pain lanced through her like a thousand needles and the most she could do was curl up in the fetal position until it faded. It was only then that she realized she was in a makeshift bed; "bed" was probably the wrong term, considering it was more a pile of blankets and pillows that she was cocooned in. It was pretty comfortable, all things considered.  
  
A noise made Nano jerk back upright, despite how painful it was to do so. Someone else was here. They were tall-- easily a head or two above her-- and dressed in the dirtiest, most rumpled labcoat she'd ever seen. Not that she looked the greatest herself, she noted with distaste. Both of them had that in common, at least. She studied the stranger with open interest as he fumbled around; he hadn't noticed she was awake yet, from the looks of it, and was engrossed in... whatever he was doing. She'd never seen the likes of it.  
  
The man drifted over to her corner muttering about something, then stopped in his tracks as he finally saw her watching him. He bent over to be at eye-level, his face discolored from dirt save for circles around his eyes where his goggles would go, and gave her an excited, dorky smile.  
  
"Congratulations on making it!" he said with pure enthusiasm. "For a while I'd thought I'd lost you." The stranger reached over to check her pulse, then pulled one glove off and pressed his calloused hand against her forehead. She grunted, but otherwise didn't do much to protest. "Fever's gone down, sounds like you're breathing fine..."  
  
"Who are you?" she finally said after a long moment. He stared at her for a few minutes, then laughed. It wasn't the kind of laugh Sips and Sjin did, when they were laughing at her; instead it was more refreshing, like laughing for the sake of it, and she couldn't help but smile a little.  
  
"I'm Lalna," he said. "I found you in my fountain. Got a bad fever, you did! I patched up all your burn scars too. You're Nano, right? Sjin's farmhand?"  
  
"Not anymore I'm not," Nano grumbled. "The dirty little bastard backstabbed me so he could get his job back at Sipsco!" She moved to sit up, but hissed in pain and laid back down. Lalna gently pressed his hands against her back and middle and helped her slowly settle into a propped-up sitting position. He gave her a sympathetic look.  
  
"Well," he said slowly, "you can stay here if you like. It's only me living here, and it gets a bit lonely sometimes." Lalna smiled, and Nano found herself smiling back. "And hey, uh, when you recover... I'm a scientist and a thaumcraft expert, so you can be my apprentice."  
  
"Eh, why not," she shrugged. Lalna gently thumped her on the shoulder. "A wizard's apprentice, huh? And a mad scientist's apprentice-- sounds dangerous."  
  
Lalna grinned.  
  
"I like to think of it as 'fun'."


End file.
